The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop 292 water pump bypass hose blues

I'm putting in a 1970 292 in my 69 C-10. I'm adding power steering. I finally got all the parts I need (including the super hard to find brackets!) My problem is where the bracket bolts to the front of the head. Its a tight fit caused by the @%&!& bypass hose. Can I run a 250 pump or modify the bracket? Also does anybody know where I can find the fitting that goes from the lower thermostat housing to the bypass hose

the 250 pump does not put out as much volumn as the 292. THAT hose has a purpose. and
You would have to buy another thermostat housing too boot.
that's YOUR choice now

I'd mod the bracket.

What he said. You'll have to modify your 250 bracket.
Cut the bracket and weld in a section to allow for the extra height of the 292. It should share the two thermostat housing bolts that are just below the upper bypass nipple. You'll need longer bolts. The bracket should also use the threaded hole that is on the top side of the head, just above the first manifold stud. You'll have to grind away the front of the bracket to clear the bypass hose. If I remember correctly, the back side of the bracket was fairly massive. I trimmed a lot of that away to clean it up and also to clear the tube type headers.
Before you weld the bracket up, you need to get a handle on what you are going to need for pulley and belt alignment.
I mixed and matched different pieces to get my setup and it may not be what you want. My crank dampener pulley is a two groove that lines up with a two groove alt pulley. The back belt is crank to alt only. The second belt is crank to water pump rear groove to steer pump to alt(just barely) and crank.
I have a single pulley on the front of the balancer that lines up with the front water pump pulley groove and will someday go to an AC pump. I've been saying that for a year and a half. darn. Someday. Today I'm knee deep in Corvair engines in various stages of disassembly. I just need to change that to "various stages of assembly". It grew from a single 140HP with 4 carbs, to a 180HP Turbo to another 140, to a twin 3BBL Weber engine, to a twin 1BBL 110HP engine and an extra set of 140 heads. Good thing I only have two cars.
Hope this doesn't bother anyone.
They ARE six cylinder, Chevy, and pre '73. I even have thoughts of getting a Corvair pickup truck to put one of the engines in.

I thought swapping a 250 to a 292 would be a simple bolt in. What I didn't figure on was, 1. having to move right motor mount bracket. 2.taller pushrod covers 3.obtain flywheel with 1/2 bolts 4.292 only water pump 5.fabricate fitting for bypass hose 6.deeper oil pan 7. obtain 292 alt brackets 8.pulley issues 9. extend exhaust header pipe 10. now to add power steering I have to modify p/s bracket Didn't GM install p/s on 292's? Is there a specific bracket for that application? But all my buddies say the 292 is worth the trouble. Anyone have any thoughts on this?

With any engine swap, it is always best to start with a complete engine. That means #2, #4, #5, #6 and #7 should have been part of the engine. #3 comes under the category of a learning experience. If it was an early 292 crank, your 250 crank may have fit. If the flywheel had come with the engine. If the 292 crank was 1/2inch with three dowels, Murphy's Law says that every flywheel you could find, had only one dowel hole. If. If.

#8. It's always nice if they're on the engine and not damaged, even if you have to change them for #10.
I run across so few 292's that I felt I would be time and money ahead, modifying a 250 bracket. If a 292 PS bracket interfered with my headers, I would have to modify it anyway.

Aren't you having fun? It's called Fabricating 101. You learn as you go. Isn't the fun of making things better than they were, the reason we're messing with this old rusted up junk?

Richard, thanks for your input and quick reply. Dont get me wrong I'm having a lot of fun with this swap. I guess I sounded like a whinning youngster who can't get things fast enough! The good thing is its a Chevy and the parts are out there. Just have to look a little. I didnt want to do the common 6 to V8 swap. I know for a fact that the 292 is a stud of an engine. Once done my C-10 will be a clean driver and be able to tow a quad and some jet skis. maybe pull an occaisonal stump out for a friend!

Glad you're having fun.
Depending on what trans and rear gears you have in that C-10, you may not be as happy as you could be or should be. I can tell you that I switched the 4.56 rear gears for 3.54 gears and it made a huge difference. Huge. It now cruises down the freeway at 75-80 with all the other kids and still has the granny gear for pulling stumps. If you're lucky enough to have something like 3.90's an overdrive trans would let that 292 strut its stuff.
I'm not trying to say you will be disappointed. The stock 292 just doesn't rev that high, but it will pull a lot taller gears than Chevy ever gave it.

If you change out the cam for a Crane RV cam it pulls the revs. With 4.11's in my burb it goes way faster than I want to drive, ever, over 100 when I chickened out.

Legman, I love six's much more than V8's. Something about that long old engine block does it for me. Got a 292 in my '66 C20, and will be using a 235 in my T rat rod.
Love 'em, and love the fact that so fe people love them LOL

You can run a 1/2 in. drill trough the 250 flywheel bolt holes & it will fit. The best thing about the 292 is they are almost bulletproof. They will run all day flat out. The stock exhaust system is the weak point. They will burn out gaskets & warp manifolds.

Thanks to all for your help. Got the 292 in today
buttoned everything up. I drilled out my 250 flywheel with 1/2 inch drill. Came out good, now I have an extra flywheel as a spare. Turned the key and the bad boy fired right up! After 5 minutes running at 1800 RPM I dropped the idle down to 700 RPM. It idled smooth and quiet like a baby's butt. I got the timing set at 0 degrees TDC per factory spec, but I feel it can use a little more advance, any advise on what works for you guys? I'm using AC 44RTS plugs. It seems to like them. Oil Pressure is 48 lbs at idle water temp is 180. About the gear ratio in back, since it was originally a Navy truck I think it has the standard axle which I think is a 3.07?

I found a way to mount the power steering pump that will clear the bypass hose on the 292. As you face the pump there are 4 holes. I then bolted a car 250 front bracket to the lower left hole on the pump. I had to cut the car brackets lower portion just leaving the hole and adjusting slot. I then drilled a 3/8" hole on the front of the main bracket just below the original hole. I then tapped the hole and ran a 3/8 x 4" cap screw through the adjusting slot to the main bracket. I still used the rear truck bracket but modified by trimming off the portion where the adjusting slot is. Wheeehooo! works pretty good.

Yo wrenchbender - what is flat out for a 292 anyway?

With my gears and 3 speed tranny it will get up to a 100. But not quickly I found out 292's dont rev up fast or that high. Their thing is pulling power. Like Redcoat 54 suggested, if I cammed it with the Crane RV cam I could get more RPM's.

I'm installing a rebuilt 3 speed Saginaw with new Centerforce clutch. Its a bear trying to slide it in. It will slide in and stop about 1" from the bell housing. I've tried putting a little high temp bearing grease on the input splines it seemed to help a little. Any of you guys run in to this problem? All the trannys I've installed went in somewhat easy.

Legman, do you ever check out El Pulpo - Pick Your Part down by Coors Amphitheatre? Almost every time I go there, there's at least 1 '72 or older Chevy/GMC truck. All this talk of brackets and such always makes me think of El Pulpo.
-David

Hey Mugsy, I've been to most of the pick-aparts on Heritage Road but, I'll definetly give El Pulpo a try. I heard there is a good one in Santa Ana but can't think of the name.

Yeah man, El Pulpo is good. I don't know why they get so many trucks. The other good thing is they often have 50% off weekends. There's also an Ecology a couple blocks down and every now and then they have trucks too. They're both on Nirvana Way across from Coors Amphitheatre. It's so close in fact that I once heard The Eagles doing sound checks. I left El Pulpo completely sick of Hotel California.
-David